The defense for Tom DeLay’s TRMPAC (Texans for a Republican Majority Political Action Committee) relies heavily on the notion of “coincidence.” Without it, everyone involved is in for a very rough trial. DeLay set up his Texas operation, but couldn’t use corporate contributions at the state level. It was in this context that DeLay’s TRMPAC […]
Dedicating the names of post offices and courthouses are among the more mundane tasks Congress takes on regularly. It gives lawmakers a chance to score a few points with the folks back home and it never, ever, sparks a contentious political fight. Well, not usually. Republican Rep. Steve King of Iowa drew allegations of McCarthyism […]
Apparently, even the White House isn’t willing to stand behind Bill Bennett’s recent remarks on black abortions lowering the crime rate. The White House on Friday criticized former Education Secretary William Bennett for remarks linking the crime rate and the abortion of black babies. “The president believes the comments were not appropriate,” White House press […]
You might be surprised to learn that the number of sexual predators in Kansas has grown dramatically recently. It’s not some freakish criminal trend, but rather, a new state official who’s responsible for evaluating who gets labeled a predator. Meet Rex Rosenberg. Psychologist Rex Rosenberg believes in demons. He believes its possible to measure demonic […]
Today’s installment of campaign-related news items that wouldn’t generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers: * Hoping to create a little more distance between himself and Republican Doug Forrester in New Jersey’s gubernatorial race, Sen. Sen. Jon Corzine (D) hit the campaign trail yesterday with the Big Dog, […]
Yesterday, there was one House Republican returning Tom DeLay’s campaign money; today there are two. At least two Republicans in the House of Representatives say they will return money to Rep. Tom DeLay’s political action committee now that the former majority leader has been indicted for allegedly conspiring to violate Texas campaign fundraising laws. Reps. […]
You’ll be pleased to know Congress has so much free time on its hands that it could take time from its schedule yesterday to debate and vote on a resolution praising the post-1954 Pledge of Allegiance. The House of Representatives on Thursday adopted a resolution sponsored by a local congressman supporting the words “under God” […]
I’ve never been entirely clear on why Karen Hughes was tapped to be the Bush the administration’s undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs. Granted, Hughes is not without talents — she was a capable local journalist, she’s not a bad writer, and she has an uncanny ability to keep the president focused […]
It’s the end of a long week, so how about a little Friday diversion from the usual political news? I wouldn’t say I watch a lot of television, but I tend to enjoy a handful of writers whose work really stands out. I tend to love just about every word Matt Groening and Aaron Sorkin […]
Speaking of the Plame scandal, when all is said and done here, I think there are a limited handful of news outlets — starting with Time magazine — that are going to have to explain why they helped keep information from the public. Dan Kennedy had a good item this week (via Froomkin) about Newsweek’s […]